This was the single most dangerous moment for B-2 pilots during their Iran bombing raid
The B-2 Spirit bombers that obliterated Iranian nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer were exposed to grave danger in the most pivotal moment during the 25-minute operation in airspace over the Islamic Republic.
The seven stealth bombers carried 14 30,000-pound GBU-57 'bunker buster' bombs for more than 18 hours after they were deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri just after midnight and crossed the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea to reach Iran.
But as pilots moved to drop their explosive payloads on three Iranian nuclear sites at 6:40 p.m. Saturday, the planes were at risk of losing their stealth capabilities and exposing themselves to enemy fire, The New York Times reported.
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This B-2 Spirit bomber, in a 2018 exercise, shows the exact moment a payload is released and the plane loses some of its stealth capabilities.
US Air Force
When the two-person crews released their weapons bay doors to drop the bombs, the shape of the stealth craft changed and made them more likely to pop up on Iranian radar — exposing the daring pilots to potentially deadly counterfire.
Experienced B-2 pilots told the outlet that the tense moment was punctuated by the aircraft quickly rising up into the air as it dropped the explosives, which weigh 15 tons apiece.
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The ace pilots operating the B-2s on Saturday were able to navigate the risk and successfully hit their targets — the deeply embedded nuclear enrichment site Fordow, as well as facilities in Natanz, and Isfahan, which had previously been targeted by Israel.
US submarines further buttressed the attack with more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles that struck Isfahan.
The seven Spirits were then out of Iranian airspace by 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and on their way back to Missouri to complete the 37-hour non-stop flight.
Two pilots sit in the cockpit of a B-2 — a $2 billion plane of which the United States has 19.
U.S. Air Force
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Pilots likely ran simulations of the difficult route in the days and weeks leading up to the actual bombing, the Times reported.
Those pilots did have some amenities on the Midnight flight — including a microwave, a refrigerator, and a bathroom.
The two-person crews also took turns lying down and resting — but both were required to be in the cockpit for take-off and all time spent in Iranian airspace.
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As part of Midnight Hammer, the Trump administration launched a decoy convoy of B-2s to the Middle East by way of the Pacific Ocean, with a planned refueling in Guam.
The US Air Force has a fleet of 19 B-2 bombers, the most expensive plane in history, after losing one in a crash in 2008.
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New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
This was the single most dangerous moment for B-2 pilots during their Iran bombing raid
The B-2 Spirit bombers that obliterated Iranian nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer were exposed to grave danger in the most pivotal moment during the 25-minute operation in airspace over the Islamic Republic. The seven stealth bombers carried 14 30,000-pound GBU-57 'bunker buster' bombs for more than 18 hours after they were deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri just after midnight and crossed the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea to reach Iran. But as pilots moved to drop their explosive payloads on three Iranian nuclear sites at 6:40 p.m. Saturday, the planes were at risk of losing their stealth capabilities and exposing themselves to enemy fire, The New York Times reported. Advertisement This B-2 Spirit bomber, in a 2018 exercise, shows the exact moment a payload is released and the plane loses some of its stealth capabilities. US Air Force When the two-person crews released their weapons bay doors to drop the bombs, the shape of the stealth craft changed and made them more likely to pop up on Iranian radar — exposing the daring pilots to potentially deadly counterfire. Experienced B-2 pilots told the outlet that the tense moment was punctuated by the aircraft quickly rising up into the air as it dropped the explosives, which weigh 15 tons apiece. Advertisement The ace pilots operating the B-2s on Saturday were able to navigate the risk and successfully hit their targets — the deeply embedded nuclear enrichment site Fordow, as well as facilities in Natanz, and Isfahan, which had previously been targeted by Israel. US submarines further buttressed the attack with more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles that struck Isfahan. The seven Spirits were then out of Iranian airspace by 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and on their way back to Missouri to complete the 37-hour non-stop flight. Two pilots sit in the cockpit of a B-2 — a $2 billion plane of which the United States has 19. U.S. Air Force Advertisement Pilots likely ran simulations of the difficult route in the days and weeks leading up to the actual bombing, the Times reported. Those pilots did have some amenities on the Midnight flight — including a microwave, a refrigerator, and a bathroom. The two-person crews also took turns lying down and resting — but both were required to be in the cockpit for take-off and all time spent in Iranian airspace. Advertisement As part of Midnight Hammer, the Trump administration launched a decoy convoy of B-2s to the Middle East by way of the Pacific Ocean, with a planned refueling in Guam. The US Air Force has a fleet of 19 B-2 bombers, the most expensive plane in history, after losing one in a crash in 2008.
Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Boston Globe
For B-2 pilots, a 37-hour nonstop mission to Iran and back
In the real mission, flown in the early hours of Sunday morning in Iran, the pilots would 'feel the clunk' of their weapons bay doors opening, briefly changing the shape of the stealth plane and potentially exposing it to enemy radar. The B-2s that attacked Fordo were each carrying two Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs designed to disable the deeply buried target. When the two-person crews released their payload, weighing a total of 60,000 pounds, their B-2 most likely surged briefly upward, Basham said. Advertisement For the pilots, it was almost certainly a new feeling. Other bombers in the American arsenal, such as the B-1 and B-52, played big roles in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dropping huge numbers of bombs in support of ground troops. But the B-2 — the most expensive plane in history, at $2.2 billion a copy — played a much more specialized role. Advertisement For some of the pilots, Sunday's mission was possibly the first time that they flew the B-2 in combat and dropped bombs. The strikes also marked the first use of the GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs in combat. In the hours after the strike US military and intelligence officials were still assessing the damage both to the site at Fordo and to the Iranian leadership's psyche. 'Our hope is that the lesson that the Iranians have learned here is look, we can fly a bunker-buster bomb from Missouri to Iran completely undetected without landing once on the ground, and we can destroy whatever nuclear capacity you build up,' Vice President JD Vance told Fox News in an interview Monday. 'I think that lesson is what's going to teach them not to rebuild their nuclear capacity.' The first 30-plus hour B-2 missions took place during the 1999 war in Kosovo. At the time, the idea of flying a combat sortie and returning home in time to pick up the kids from soccer practice was still novel and a bit surreal for those flying. 'It is kind of weird to get dressed in your own bathroom and then go into combat,' one B-2 pilot told The Wall Street Journal in the early days of the Kosovo war. Since then, B-2 pilots have flown combat missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. The B-2 bombers, which were built to carry nuclear weapons, regularly fly deterrence missions in Europe and Asia from their Missouri base. The past 25 years have taught the Air Force and its pilots a lot about flying long missions. Today, staff doctors and physiologists at Whiteman Air Force Base specialize in helping B-2 pilots prepare their bodies to spend long stretches in the cockpit. Advertisement If they have sufficient notice, the pilots will try to adjust their sleep schedules so that their body clocks will be in sync with their mission. Each B-2 is flown by a two-person crew. The small cockpit has room for a toilet and space behind the plane's seats where a pilot can stretch out on a cot or a camping pad and take a brief nap. Both pilots are required to be in their seats during takeoff, landing, aerial refuelings, and for the duration of their time over enemy territory. The planes are also equipped with small heaters to warm food, but many B-2 pilots prefer simple meals like sandwiches on long missions. 'You learn to drink a lot of water,' said Basham, who flew combat missions into Kosovo. The missions most likely played out in similar fashion to the sorties that B-2 pilots flew in earlier wars. In those earlier missions in Kosovo and Iraq, pilots saw antiaircraft guns and missiles in the sky beneath them. This time, Pentagon officials said the Iranians did not get off a shot at the B-2s or the F-35 fighter jet escorts. In the earlier conflicts the B-2 pilots were dropping, at most, 2,000-pound precision-guided bombs. This time the B-2s each dropped two 30,000-pound munitions over their target. Basham could not help but wonder what it felt like to shed that kind of weight. 'It'll be interesting to hear from the pilots,' he said. This article originally appeared in .
Chicago Tribune
14 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Air Force veteran's Park Forest home gets thousands in repairs through Cook County program
Mark Kellogg and his wife, Keisha, were looking at taking out a hefty home equity line of credit to pay for thousands of dollars in repairs at their Park Forest home. But the U.S. Air Force veteran didn't have to pay a dime for $30,000 worth of work, completed this spring through a Cook County program that repaired homes of 30 military veterans, including homes in other south suburbs. At a news conference outside Kellogg's home Tuesday, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the program was meant to make veterans' homes 'more accessible, safer and more secure.' 'Our veterans have given us so much,' she said. Launched in 2023, the Veterans Home Repair Program tapped $1.25 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. Along with Kellogg's home, the county program repaired the homes of veterans in Chicago, Blue Island, Calumet City, Dolton, Homewood, Lansing, Matteson and Richton Park. Interior and exterior work was done on all of the homes, with costs ranging from $15,000 to $45,000, according to the county. At Kellogg's home, work included new gutters, a new furnace and water heater, repainting six rooms and replacing a concrete patio in the backyard. 'When we bought the house we didn't know rain pooled against the back of it,' he said. The county program replaced the concrete patio and regraded the soil underneath so that storm runoff is directed into drains in the backyard. Kellogg said fixing that problem alone would have cost him $16,000. 'I am extremely greatful I was chosen to participate,' Kellogg said. He said he and his wife have lived in the home since 2010. Kellogg was in the Air Force from spring 1988 to winter 1992. He is commander of the American Legion post in Park Forest and works for the village's Public Works Department. He grew up in Harvey and has six siblings, and his family moved to Park Forest during his senior year of high school. After graduating from the since-closed Rich East High School in 1987, he joined the Air Force. Kellogg said he comes from a military family and that his father and a younger brother both served in the Air Force, and other relatives, including a grandfather, uncle and cousins, were in other branches of the military. He said he applied online last December for the county program and was told in March he'd been selected. All of the work was done by the end of April, he said. The 56-year-old Kellogg and his wife have been married 22 years and have three daughters. The county worked with Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago, which relies on volunteers to repair homes and other buildings in the Chicago area. Since 1991, the organization has repaired 1,900 homes and 285 facilities operated by nonprofits, according to its website. Wanda Ramirez, Rebuilding Together's president and chief executive, said there are a 'growing number of homeowners who cannot afford to make repairs' needed for them to stay in their homes. Without the financial resources needed, Ramirez said the many veterans 'may have to live in substandard housing.'
